Scrolling shooter

An early scrolling shooter, 1942.

A scrolling shooter is a sub-genre of the shooter video game where the player controls a character in the game (frequently represented as a space ship, plane, etc.) which they view from a third-person perspective, and are able to maneuver it around the screen shooting at enemies as the background scrolls behind them. The earliest scrolling shooters were just classic shooters with pixel stars or background sprites that flew past the player, creating the illusion of movement, but, as they progressed, full scrolling backgrounds were added. This was entirely cosmetic, but, as the genre became more defined, the designers introduced new mechanics that aren't present in non-scrolling shooters, like the ability to become crushed as the backgrounds moved off the screen.

History

The scrolling shooter is one of the earlier video game genres. Prototypes began showing up in the 1970s with titles like Avenger (1975) and Ozma Wars (1979), but these didn't feature true maps, just objects that would zoom past the player's ship giving the illusion of scrolling. Pseudo-maps were implemented in games like Defender and Vanguard, both released in 1981, which helped the illusion, but it wasn't until the release of titles like Scramble (1981) and Xevious (1982) that the genre we knew today was finally cemented.

Scrolling shooters expanded into a large variety of sub-genres like cute-em-up and bullet hell, and merged with other other genres to create hybrids like the platform shooter.

Personal

One of the very first video games I ever saw, River Raid, was a scrolling shooter, and it helped cement my love for the genre for many years. Also, scrolling shooters are pretty easy to program, so I have written several scrolling shooter engines in various programming languages. However, I now view scrolling shooters to be a rather inferior genre. Generally what ends up happening in most of them is the difficulty ramps up by increasing the number of enemies and bullets, so the games are based almost entirely on twitchy reflexes and memorization of when and where enemies spawn to kill them before they fill the screen with bullets. I prefer scrolling shooters that incorporate adventure or strategy elements like Raptor: Call of the Shadows which includes the accumulation of money and buying ship upgrades to make subsequent levels a little easier.

Variables

There are several different variables which can affect how the scrolling shooter plays out.

Perspective

Scrolling shooters all use a third-person perspective, but the direction they view the player's character can change.

• Side-view: You view everything from the side. Examples: Defender, Scramble.
• Top-down: You see everything as though you're above, looking down. Examples: 1942, Raiden, Xevious.
• Over-the-shoulder: Your view is behind your character, looking past them. Examples: Space Harrier, Silpheed: Super Dogfighter.
• Isometric: You're viewing the scene from a diagonal perspective. Examples: Zaxxon.

Some games change the perspective throughout the game, like Life Force which alternates between side-view and top-down as you proceed through the levels.

Scrolling Direction

• Straight (horizontal or vertical): The screen scrolls in a single direction, either horizontally or vertically. Examples: Gradius, Raiden, Scramble.
• Diagonal: The screen scrolls both horizontally and vertically at the same time. Examples: Zaxxon.
• 360 Degrees: The screen scrolls in all directions based on player movement. Examples: Raid on Bungeling Bay.

Some games alternate the scrolling direction like Vanguard which changes between horizontal, vertical, and diagonal.

Automatic Scrolling

Some scrolling shooters automatically scroll the background without the player's influence, while others allow the player to have partial or complete control of the scrolling.

• Automatic: The screen scrolls without player control. Examples: 1942.
• Partial Control: The player has some control over the scrolling, but can never stop it. Examples: River Raid.
• Complete Control: The player can completely control when scrolling occurs. Examples: Defender.

Sub-genres

There are sub-genres to scrolling shooters as well which are based primarily on the content.

• Bullet Hell: These games feature an obscene amount of bullets being shot all over the screen that the player must avoid. Examples: DonPachi, Toho.
• Cute 'Em Up: Named as a play on "shoot 'em up," these are shooters which use cutesy graphics. Examples: Parodius, TwinBee.

Games

These are scrolling shooters that are important to me. For the complete list, see the category.

Title	Released	Perspective	Direction	Scrolling	Notes
Defender	1981-??-??	Side-view	Horizontal	Complete
Guerrilla War (NES)	1988-12-26	Top-down	Vert, horz	Complete	A run-and-gun style, but not a platform shooter.
Life Force	1986-07-04	Side, top	Horz, vert	Automatic
Raiden	1990-??-??	Top-down	Vertical	Automatic
Raptor: Call of the Shadows	1994-04-01	Top-down	Vertical	Automatic	Uses money and upgrade systems.
River Raid	1982-??-??	Top-down	Vertical	Partial	The very first video game I can remember seeing.
Section-Z (NES)	1987-05-25	Side-view	Horizontal	Automatic	Adds exploration elements.
Silpheed: Super Dogfighter	1986-12-05	Over-the-shoulder	Vertical	Automatic	Uses a pseudo-3D perspective.
Sopwith	1984-??-??	Side-view	Horizontal	Partial
Spy Hunter	1983-??-??	Top-down	Vertical	Complete	Uses a less-common driving theme.
Vanguard	1981-??-??	Side, top	Horz, vert, diagonal	Automatic

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